Andrew Fountaine
Encyclopedia
Andrew Fountaine was a veteran of the far right
scene in British politics
.
Born into a land-owning Norfolk
family, Fountaine was educated at the Army College in Aldershot
and was the son of Vice Admiral Charles Fountaine who had been naval ADC to King George V. After fighting for Francisco Franco
during the Spanish Civil War
, he became a naval
Lieutenant-Commander
during the Second World War
(he previously drove an ambulance for the Abyssinians
during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
), serving in the Pacific
before being invalided out. Fountaine then took a chemistry
degree at Cambridge
.
During the 1940s, Fountaine also became involved with the Conservative Party
, with his speeches becoming one of the highlights of the annual party conference, notably the 1948 conference when he denounced Labour
as 'semi-alien mongrels and hermaphrodite communists'. He launched his political career proper in 1949 when he was chosen by the Tories as their candidate for Chorley
. A speech to the Tory Party conference that same year was found to be too heavy with anti-Semitism
, however; and, as a result, Party Chairman Lord Woolton disavowed his nomination. Nonetheless, no official Conservative candidate was nominated to take his place, and, as a result, Fountaine finished only 361 votes behind the winning candidate, Labour incumbent Clifford Kenyon
.
Having left the Conservative Party, Fountaine launched his own group, known as the National Front Movement. However, this came to nothing, and so he became a member of the League of Empire Loyalists
. He would go on to follow John Bean
out of this group, and was a founder member of the National Labour Party. Officially the leader of the NLP, Fountaine fulfilled this role because he presented a more respectable image than Bean, being a landowner in Norfolk. Fountaine remained a strong supporter of Bean and supported him in his later struggles with Colin Jordan
in the British National Party
(in which he acted as party president). It was during this time that Fountaine's land was used for 'Spearhead' drilling exercises under the supervision of Jordan and John Tyndall
.
Fountaine would go on to be a leading member of the British National Front
(NF), standing as their first parliamentary election candidate in Acton
in a by-election in 1968. He eventually served as deputy leader to John Tyndall
, despite being expelled by Arthur Chesterton in 1968 (an action he had overturned in the High Court). In 1976, he contested the Coventry, N W by-election. In the 1979 general election
, Fountaine stood as National Front candidate in the Norwich South constituency, polling a mere 264 votes (0.7%).
Fountaine split with Tyndall in 1979, and challenged him for the leadership, but was defeated and split from the NF to form his own NF Constitutional Movement
, later called the Nationalist Party. The new party claimed 2000 members by January 1980 and was publishing its own paper Excalibur. The new movement was to prove short-lived as Fountaine became disillusioned with the in-fighting that was coming to characterise the British right. He retired from politics in 1981 to concentrate on growing trees on his estate near Swaffham
, and remained there until his death in 1997.
Tony Martin
, a farmer who was repeatedly robbed, and eventually convicted of murder after shooting at a gang of robbers is a nephew of Fountaine.
Note: Although Fountaine was the candidate of the local Conservative Party in 1950 his candidacy had been disavowed by the party at national level.
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
scene in British politics
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
.
Born into a land-owning Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
family, Fountaine was educated at the Army College in Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
and was the son of Vice Admiral Charles Fountaine who had been naval ADC to King George V. After fighting for Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, he became a naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Lieutenant-Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(he previously drove an ambulance for the Abyssinians
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
), serving in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
before being invalided out. Fountaine then took a chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
degree at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
During the 1940s, Fountaine also became involved with the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, with his speeches becoming one of the highlights of the annual party conference, notably the 1948 conference when he denounced Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
as 'semi-alien mongrels and hermaphrodite communists'. He launched his political career proper in 1949 when he was chosen by the Tories as their candidate for Chorley
Chorley (UK Parliament constituency)
Chorley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. A speech to the Tory Party conference that same year was found to be too heavy with anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, however; and, as a result, Party Chairman Lord Woolton disavowed his nomination. Nonetheless, no official Conservative candidate was nominated to take his place, and, as a result, Fountaine finished only 361 votes behind the winning candidate, Labour incumbent Clifford Kenyon
Clifford Kenyon
Clifford Kenyon CBE was a British farmer and politician.Kenyon was educated at Brighton Grove College in Manchester, and the University of Manchester...
.
Having left the Conservative Party, Fountaine launched his own group, known as the National Front Movement. However, this came to nothing, and so he became a member of the League of Empire Loyalists
League of Empire Loyalists
The League of Empire Loyalists was a British pressure group , established in 1954, which campaigned against the dissolution of the British Empire. The League was a small group of current or former members of the Conservative Party led by Arthur K...
. He would go on to follow John Bean
John Bean
John Edward Bean is a long-standing participant in the British far right, who has been active within a number of movements during the course of his life and is the voice behind the BNP election broadcasts.-Early life:...
out of this group, and was a founder member of the National Labour Party. Officially the leader of the NLP, Fountaine fulfilled this role because he presented a more respectable image than Bean, being a landowner in Norfolk. Fountaine remained a strong supporter of Bean and supported him in his later struggles with Colin Jordan
Colin Jordan
John Colin Campbell Jordan was a leading figure in postwar Neo-Nazism in Britain. In the far-right nationalist circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly 'Nazi' inclination in his open use of the styles and symbols of the Third Reich.Through organisations such as the National...
in the British National Party
British National Party (1960s)
The British National Party was a far right political party that operated in the United Kingdom from 1960 to 1967. Led by John Bean the group, which was subject to internal divisions during its brief history, established some areas of local support before helping to form the National Front in...
(in which he acted as party president). It was during this time that Fountaine's land was used for 'Spearhead' drilling exercises under the supervision of Jordan and John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
.
Fountaine would go on to be a leading member of the British National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
(NF), standing as their first parliamentary election candidate in Acton
Acton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1940s :- Elections in the 1960s :-References:...
in a by-election in 1968. He eventually served as deputy leader to John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
, despite being expelled by Arthur Chesterton in 1968 (an action he had overturned in the High Court). In 1976, he contested the Coventry, N W by-election. In the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, Fountaine stood as National Front candidate in the Norwich South constituency, polling a mere 264 votes (0.7%).
Fountaine split with Tyndall in 1979, and challenged him for the leadership, but was defeated and split from the NF to form his own NF Constitutional Movement
Constitutional Movement
The Constitutional Movement was a right wing political group in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1979 by Andrew Fountaine as the National Front Constitutional Movement, a splinter group from the National Front...
, later called the Nationalist Party. The new party claimed 2000 members by January 1980 and was publishing its own paper Excalibur. The new movement was to prove short-lived as Fountaine became disillusioned with the in-fighting that was coming to characterise the British right. He retired from politics in 1981 to concentrate on growing trees on his estate near Swaffham
Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
, and remained there until his death in 1997.
Tony Martin
Tony Martin (farmer)
Anthony Edward "Tony" Martin is a farmer from Norfolk, England, who in 1999 killed one burglar and wounded another who had both entered his home...
, a farmer who was repeatedly robbed, and eventually convicted of murder after shooting at a gang of robbers is a nephew of Fountaine.
Elections constested
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five... |
Chorley Chorley (UK Parliament constituency) Chorley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
22872 | 46.9 |
| 25 March 1959 South West Norfolk by-election, 1959 The South West Norfolk by-election of 25 March 1959 was held after Labour Member of Parliament Sidney Dye died on 9 December 1958. The seat was retained by Labour.-Candidates:Labour chose Albert Hilton as their candidate for the by-election... |
South West Norfolk | Independent | 785 | 2.6 |
| 28 March 1968 Acton by-election, 1968 The Acton by-election of 28 March 1968 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament Bernard Floud on 10 October 1967. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government. It was one of the three Conservative gains from Labour on the same day, the others... |
Acton Acton (UK Parliament constituency) - Elections in the 1940s :- Elections in the 1960s :-References:... |
NF British National Front The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes .... |
1400 | 5.6 |
| 4 March 1976 Coventry North West by-election, 1976 The Coventry North West by-election, in Coventry, on 4 March 1976 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament Maurice Edelman. A safe Labour seat, it was won by Geoffrey Robinson, who would go on to retain the seat in 1979.-Party performance:... |
Coventry NW Coventry North West (UK Parliament constituency) Coventry North West is a borough constituency in the city of Coventry which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom... |
NF | 986 | 3.1 |
| 1979 United Kingdom general election, 1979 The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats... |
Norwich South | NF | 264 | 0.7 |
Note: Although Fountaine was the candidate of the local Conservative Party in 1950 his candidacy had been disavowed by the party at national level.